Homestead Strike Issues Surrounding the Homestead Strike

Homestead Strike

Issues Surrounding the Homestead Strike

The Homestead Strike of 1892 represented one of the bloodiest encounters between Union members and industrial officials in history. The strike revolves around a Carnegie steel mill located in Homestead, Pennsylvania. The entire town of Homestead rose to support the Carnegie Steel Mill, and the steel mill was the lifeblood of the town. Soon, class divisions would become the cause of one of the most violent union strikes in history. This essay will explore the issues surrounding the Homestead Strike including its causes and effects.

Causes of the Homestead Strike

After the Civil War, American ingenuity was at its finest and America became a center for growth and industry. For those that built the industrial institutions that would make the country strong, a particularly privileged lifestyle arose. The small percentage that was able to enjoy this lifestyle hardly stopped to realize that it came at a high cost. The factories needed workers and life for the workers that formed the backbone of these corporations was precarious and fragile.

Workers in the steel mill performed highly dangerous work and many lost their lives due to poor safety conditions within the factories. Steel mills were necessary for the many large scale construction projects that were underway from coast to coast. Steel was needed for buildings, railways, bridges, and every inch of the infrastructure that America needed to grow and thrive. The workers that made the beams and parts were subjected to dirty, hot, backbreaking labor, day in and day out.

They often worked long shifts for very little pay. Workers only made $2.25 and some even less, working under intolerable conditions. They had no time for family and not enough money to feed themselves or their families. These were the conditions that led to the formation of the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers (AA). This union represented the workers and fought for fair wages and better working conditions ("Homestead and its Perilous Trades - Impressions of a Visit"). On July 6 of 1892 the situation came to a boiling point. Workers formed a massive strike. Carnegie and Pinkerton Security tried to break the strike. Many were killed on both sides by the time the incident was over.

Public Opinion

News of the Homestead Strike caused an outpouring of media coverage. The ripples of the incident were felt from coast to coast and would spark debates for months. Carnegie had been heralded as a hero who was making the country strong and building wealth. Coverage brought attention to the working conditions that were promoted in Carnegie's empire. Public opinion of Carnegie came under fire. Interestingly, Carnegie had sailed for Scotland in May and had not returned before the incident (Johnson, 2008).

The Homestead Strike brought attention to differences between the two classes that had emerged in America. It brought attention to the fact that the wealth of the upper class came at the cost of extreme sacrifices by the workers. Carnegie failed to make a deal that would bring the violence to an end, but instead responded was strong handed intimidation techniques, which caused the public to further criticize him (Johnson, 2008). Public opinion supported the workers but did not support unions after the strike. They were not willing to support unions that may spark further violence in the future. The public wanted fairness, but not if it meant waging an internal war (Johnson, 2008). Perhaps memories of the Civil War and its destruction influenced this opinion.

Labor Unions After the Strike

After the Homestead Strike labor unions became associated with violence. This is largely due to coverage by the media. After Homestead, labor unions experienced declining membership. Any further strikes were quickly squashed, violently if need be to keep the violence from spreading into another Homestead incident (Brody, 1969). Several other strikes at the Homestead plant led to the plant being shut down, and a final blow to the effort of unionization. Other Carnegie steel milled remained in existence and continued to operate, but they remained nonunion for close to 40 years (Brody, 1969).